2018 Goals

I’ve been on the fence posting this because a. I feel like I’ve missed the boat as it’s already the second week of January now (whaaaaat?!) and b. there’s not much in this post for you to take away. One of the main reasons I write is to give you all something valuable, whether that’s a new recipe, a DIY or some lessons I’ve learnt that may help you. This post is entirely self-involved but I personally LOVE reading other people's goals and resolutions. I love seeing what other people are planning and I really like the idea of being able to support them with their goals throughout the year. I’ve also written goals and resolutions for the past eight years on my blog, and it seemed rather sad if I didn’t continue that trend.

I know that resolutions and goals aren’t just for the New Year. I’m totally up for rejigging my goals six, four, ten months down the line if something isn’t working for me. I don’t feel bad if something doesn’t work out or I don’t achieve what I set out to do. But what I do love about goals, is that it’s something to work towards. It helps my mental health to have something to aim for and a great sense of satisfaction if I do happen to reach that goal. So, without further ado, here are my personal and business goals for 2018.

If you’ve been around for a little while, you’ll know that I usually pick one word to sum up my intentions for the coming year. I struggled to choose a word for this year but I think I’m going to go with ‘belief’. My previous words have been action words but this one is softer - less of the pushing myself to work hard, because I already know I have to do that. Instead, I’m focusing on something that I need to actively work towards - to believe in myself. To believe that I can do this, that I have skills that I can push to create a future that means I am happy and can create what I love whilst making money. This word will motivate everything I do but I also have smaller goals that I can actively tick off, too. Here we go!

Personal - Exercise

I read back through the annual posts I’ve written on my blog since 2010 and exercise is always one that crops up. Not just in a lose weight kind of way, but in a ‘this will improve my mental health’ kind of way. I’m yet to find a cardio based exercise I enjoy that I can easily fit into my routine so that’s a constant quest. I love pilates and it’s great for my posture but doing a class once a week isn’t enough, so I’m determined to do more pilates at home in the evenings. My core is in dire need of strengthening and my posture is not in a good place. I really love pilates, so it’s just a case of finding the time for it and turning it into a habit.

Business - Hit 1000 followers on Instagram

I don’t usually like attributing numbers to my goals - it always feels like it’s something I can’t really control and I’m scared of failing and not reaching something with such a clear end result. I love the community on instagram and I’m so pleased with my engagement, but to hit such a round number would be fantastic. I could probably hitch this number up as I’m currently sitting on 850ish so 1k is doable, but I don’t know that anything higher than that is possible considering the algorithm is a hard one to conquer.

Business - Increase my freelance income

It feels kind of vulnerable to mention money but I do think it’s a topic that needs to be discussed more in terms of it not being taboo. I work full time as a designer, but I opened my Etsy shop last June and I’m so happy with how my side project is going. I design new products each month and I’m slowly building a larger range of stationery and artwork so the shop is growing constantly. I’d like to keep pushing sales and make more money from the shop in 2018, as well as other freelance income streams. I am pushing myself this year to accept more commissions (both illustration and design) and I’d like to be proactive and pitch for more jobs rather than just waiting for them to come to me. The big five year goal is to go freelance full time, so while this is a way off yet, I’d really like to put steps in place to achieve this in the future. Setting up my new website (this blog is on a brand new platform so have a look around at the new design!) on January 1st was a big step and so a good one to have ticked off my list already. I now have pages dedicated to my wedding stationery design and a work with me page that lists my skills in more detail.

Personal - read more

I miss reading, but it’s just been pushed to the backburner as I seem to fill my time with so many other hobbies. I sat down with a book and made time over Christmas and it reminded me how much I love it. I used to read during my lunch break everyday in my last job but for various reasons, I can’t in my current one. I’ve found it hard to find time to do in my evening routine but even if it’s 15 minutes before bed, I’d really like to make this a goal I stick to.

Business - post twice a month

Despite having this blog for eight years now, I’ve never had a blogging schedule. As a university student back in 2010, I was blogging a lot more than I do now and there have been lulls and bursts of writing during all those years in between. Relating to the income goal, I’m taking things a bit more seriously in 2018 and though two posts a month isn’t much, it’s more than I do now, and it’s still achievable for me.

With that in mind, I’ll see you in a few weeks for a new post! I hope you enjoyed reading and if you have your own goal or resolution posts on your blog, please do share a link in the comments below and we can have a read.

Fancy reading something else? Here are my last three years of goals and resolutions: